Scrappage scheme has ended but helped the used parts market

The U.K. new car market is slowly emerging from the crisis. Recent figures from the Society of Motors Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) show that through 2010 the new car registrations rose up 1.8% compared to 2009. It has been the first rise since 2007 and the hit of recession. The figures clearly indicate that 2010 has been a year of contrast. While the first half was quite good in terms of sales, the second half was less successful. This is due to the end of the scrappage scheme in March.

People are still unable to buy a new car so they keep their old one going. Even if it is over, the scrappage scheme made it possible for the breakers to have a lot of stock. In other words, a great number of used parts are available throughout the country and this particular market is especially dynamic. SMMT figures indicate for instance that the best selling new car in 2010 was the Ford Fiesta. One can expect that it will be easier to find Ford used car parts for this particular model or even for the Vauxhall Astra model, best selling new car in December.

Yet, the U.K. market is still hampered by the lingering global crisis and by the recent bad weather. As the country was almost entirely paralyzed by snow and ice in December, people were not able to get around much. In spite of a sharp VAT rise that was scheduled for January, potential buyers could not get to the retailers to buy before the VAT rise occurred, hence a rather disappointing month of December. However, a few makes managed to make the most of these severe weather conditions. So, Land Rover used the situation to see its sales rose 27pc while Renault, Nissan, BMW and Kia all rose to a lesser extent.

About FranceCasse

Francecasse is an online parts finder based in France.
Founded in 2006, this concept is the result of the collaboration between Internet development specialists and car experts.

The company has simplified the buying and selling of car spares by setting up a website where the supply meets the demand. The British website provides a wide range of car spares and lets any visitor make a car part request for free.

The database also contains more than 100 car manufacturers, making it easier for the web users to find their car spares. In order to reply to these requests, Francecasse collaborates with many car breakers that will reply to the customers instantly. The latter will then receive an e-mail with many offers from the scrap yards, and will have the possibility to choose the most interesting one.

Every day, the company helps hundreds of people find their used car parts, putting them in contact with a large network of breaker yards in the U.K.